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The lyrics to "The East is Red" were adapted from an old Shaanxi folk song about love. The lyrics were often changed depending on the singer.[1] The modern lyrics were produced in 1942, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, attributed to a farmer from northern Shaanxi, Li Youyuan.[2] It is possible there was an earlier version which referred to Liu Zhidan, a local communist hero, who was killed in Shaanxi after the Chinese Red Army passed through the region during the Long March. Later, Mao's name replaced Liu's in the lyrics.[3] The song was popular in the Communist base-area of Yan'an, but became less popular after the Communists won the Chinese Civil War in 1949, possibly because some senior Party leaders disagreed with the song's portrayal of Mao Zedong as China's "savior".[2]

The lyrics of "The East is Red" idealize Mao Zedong, and Mao's popularization of "The East is Red" was one of his earliest efforts to promote his image as a perfect hero in Chinese popular culture after the Korean War. In 1956, a political commissar suggested to China's defense minister, Peng Dehuai, that the song be taught to Chinese troops, but Peng opposed Mao's propaganda, saying "That is a personality cult! That is idealism!" Peng's opposition to "The East is Red", and to Mao's incipient personality cult in general, contributed to Mao purging Peng in 1959. After Peng was purged, Mao accelerated his efforts to build his personality cult, and by 1966 succeeded in having "The East is Red" sung in place of China's national anthem.[4]

In 1964 Zhou Enlai used "The East is Red" as the central chorus for a play he produced to promote the personality cult of Mao Zedong, "March Forward under the Banner of Mao Zedong Thought". The theme of the play was that Mao was the only person capable of leading the Chinese Communist Party to victory. The play was performed by 2,000 artists, and was accompanied by a 1,000-man chorus. It was staged repeatedly in Beijing in order to ensure that all residents would be able to see it, and was later adapted to film that was shown all over China.[5]

In 1969 the tune was used in the Yellow River Piano Concerto. The Concerto was produced by Jiang Qing and adapted from the Yellow River Cantata by Xian Xinghai. When she adapted the Cantata, Jiang added the tune to "The East is Red" in order to connect the Concerto with the themes of the Cultural Revolution.[7] After China launched its first satellite, in 1970, "The East is Red" was the first signal the craft sent back to Earth.[6]

Because of its associations with the Cultural Revolution, the song was rarely heard after the rise of Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970s. Today in China the song is considered by some to be a somewhat unseemly reminder of the cult of personality associated with Mao. It's official use has largely been replaced by the "March of the Volunteers", whose lyrics mention neither the Communist Party nor Mao. "The East is Red" is still commonly heard in recordings played by electronic cigarette lighters bearing Mao's face that are popular with tourists.[8]

The tune of "The East Is Red" remains popular in Chinese popular culture. In 2009 it was voted as the most popular patriotic song in a Chinese government-run internet poll.[6] It has been played from the Drum Tower in Xi'an and at the top of every hour at the Beijing Railway Station.